The RBG Exhibit at the Skirball

Over the weekend a few friends and I drove to the Skirball Cultural Center in LA to see the Ruth Bader Ginsburg exhibit, based on the Notorious RBG book. It was absolutely worth the drive (although we made a day of it, catching a volleyball game at UCLA and going to dinner) and if you are local I can’t recommend it enough. 

With a few exceptions, they didn’t allow picture in the exhibit, which was disappointing at first but actually ended up being a nice change.

The exhibit led patrons through Ruth’s life chronologically, with dioramas, memorabilia, signage, audio visual footage, case brief details, and some interactive experiences. I have read a great deal about her life already, so little of it was really that new to me, yet it was still really neat to see things like her yearbooks, dissent collars, and several outfits in person. I think they did a good job of interjecting some of her personal life as well, as a wife, mother, and opera-lover.

One of the most fun sections was a little cliché and silly, but still a good time. There was a Supreme Court Bench to pose in back of, as well as a selection of judicial robes and dissent collars. We got a kick out of doing it, but what was even more awesome was seeing a three-year-old little girl do the same right after us (even more cool was that the Skirball provided robes sized down for toddlers and up all the way through 3XL).

Besides the exhibit itself, it was interesting to see the variety of people there to learn about and pay homage to Ruth. And that’s the thing about her- I think her passion for helping others, adherence to the law, and devotion towards justice transcends age, nationality, and socioeconomic background.